By: Tanner Shotwell
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – Rob Hodous was a 29-year-old son and brother who died from a fentanyl overdose a little over a year ago.
According to his sister Allie (pictured above on the far left), Rob (far right), had been struggling with addiction for many years. He passed away in February 2022.
Allie talked about the vivid emotions she felt when she received the call from her mother informing her of Rob’s death.
“…(my mom) said we just got a call from the police department and Rob passed away from a drug overdose, and I mean my heart just sank,” Allie said.
Allie went on to use the terms gut-wrenching and beyond painful when describing how she felt in the several months following her brother’s passing. She also said that it’s difficult that her brother is now part of a growing statistic around the city of Fayetteville.
Fayetteville has seen fentanyl-related deaths increase in each of the last five years. There were 9 fentanyl deaths in 2018, and 2022 had a total of 36 fentanyl deaths. These growing numbers led police sergeant, Anthony Murphy, to begin equipping his officers with naloxone kits in case of emergencies.
“Every one of our officers is issued a kit to administer either to themselves or to people they find out on the street that has overdosed or been exposed to fentanyl,” said Murphy.
Murphy also cautions people to take any prescription pills or medicine that is not directly from a pharmacy due to the rising fentanyl numbers across Washington County.
Allie said that following the death of her brother, she now keeps naloxone on her at all times for emergency purposes. She also emphasized the importance of grieving in a healthy way and she joined support groups with people in similar situations.
Rob’s mother, Kim Hodous, also started a website called “From Grief to More” to allow other parents to connect with her for grief counseling and recovery programs.